Heart of the Kingdom
by Zodiac-Aries
Summary: Medieval AU. In the land of Coure, a darkness is rising from the empire who is under the hand of Master Xehanort. Follow the two separate journeys of two boys, Sora and Riku, as they do what they must to keep darkness at bay. NOT YAOI. One shot


**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and SquareEnix. I own the plot though.**

A cloaked figure was standing on a shores of a dark beach. The sky was filled with dark storm clouds and the seas were churning. Waves were crashing on the rocks near it, rained pelted the area and lightning struck in several places in the water. The figure shook their head and turned to leave the place. The figure sighed as they walked away looking at the sky. "Damn it Sora, what did you do to piss off the princess now?" the figure said to themselves, their voice turning out to be one of a man's.

* * *

><p>The world of Cuore is divided into three lands: Lumens, Reimei and Temnota. Lumen is a place full of light and radiance. Within this land are several kingdoms, each with their own king. No kingdom in the land would dare attack each other due to being in a big alliance with one another, creating a peaceful existence within the land. The kings come together once a month and discuss on how they would like to change things, not only for their own kingdoms but to help each other's kingdoms as well. All of this is ran through their leader who they all agreed upon, King Mickey. King Mickey is a short humanoid mouse who has earned the respect of everyone within the kingdoms of Lumen. Not only was he strong, he was kind and led the kings in their times of strife.<p>

The land of Reimei was the land to the East of Lumen, which was known for the scenery which always seemed to be bathed in twilight. It was full of several towns and villages known for trade and commerce. These lands were ruled by a republic made up of several leaders who had voted on what to do in their land. This land was also where you cross if you would want to go from either Reimei to Temnota.

The last of the lands, Temnota, was a dark place almost as if the lands were put into perpetual nightfall. Little light graces the lands even during the day, for storm clouds always covered the sky. The people of Temnota, were all under the empirical rule of one man known as Master Xehanort. Master Xehanort has been ruling that land since long ago, and no one has contested him in that regard. Temnota is known for technological advancements that they had sold to the other lands, other than that not much is known about the land.

For the past century or so, Temnota and Lumens have been at war with each other. Not much was known as to why they had battled each other, not even the books and scrolls had any indication for the great war before the current age. It was said that both Master Xehanort and the previous Knight Commander of Lumens Eraqus had battled but could not beat one another, resulting in a draw. That was stated to be the day where the current peace treaty between all three lands had been established. The badlands where most of the knights who fell during the final battle was renamed the Keyblade Graveyard, for those who battled wielded weapons known as Keyblades. However, that is the past and this is the present. The story we will follow is one about two boys, boys who hold the fate of the world in their very hands.

* * *

><p>In the many kingdom of the land of Lumens, there was one known for its flowers and its inexplicably light nature. It was called the Radiant Garden. The kingdom was situated in between an ocean and the other a valley. They specialized in growing vegetation, fishing, trade and some technological advancements. It was also known for a strong army force, that was consistently protecting the city from dangers inside and outside of the city walls. The leader of this kingdom was Ansem the Wise, a kind king with a curious nature. He was willing to help out people in need and create projects to better all of life in general. He lives in the large castle with his granddaughters. After his wife died, he decided to dedicate his life in raising his daughter in the best way he can. Currently, he is visiting his friend King Mickey, thus leaving the castle in the hands of his very capable family.<p>

In one of the many corridors of the castle a shout was heard, followed by several crashes and screams. Standing outside the room where all the commotion was occurring were four people. Two blonds, a red head and a brunette. One of the blonds was wearing a simple white dress with long sleeves. She had long hair that went past her shoulders and went to the middle of her back. In her hands was a sketchbook that was being gripped tightly. Her blue eyes were staring at the door with wary. The blond next to her was a male wearing a white tunic over a black shirt, brown pants and shoes. His hair was spiked up in a funny fashion. He too had blue eyes that were staring warily at the door in front of them. The third person in that line of people was the red haired one. He was taller than everyone else there, a good head above the rest. His hair was spiked backward and reached a little past his shoulders as well. He had on a black shirt under an orange vest and khaki pants, with black shoes. His green eyes were looking between the door and the blond boy. The final person in their line up was the brunette, she had a bob cut and wore a black dress shirt with white fringes and black pants and shoes. Her blue eyes showed her confusion to what was happening.

"Um...why are we standing outside the princess's door captain Roxas?" the brunette asked. The blond boy sighed and shook his head.

"We're here to introduce both you and Axel here to the current Knight Commander, Xion," Roxas replied with another shake of his head. "Sadly, he chose the wrong day to argue with the princess."

"He already knows me Roxas," the red haired man said while pointing at himself with his thumb. "Remember we met up last year when you held that fighting tournament? Why do you still have to introduce me to him now?"

"It's because you are joining the army now Axel," the blond girl answered. "Sora has to interview the people who are going to join the knights to make sure they are qualified for the job." Axel and Xion looked at the blond girl before nodding.

"I guess you are right Ms. Namine," Xion responded. The blond looked at her and giggled.

"You don't have to be so formal with me Xion. I may be part of the royal family here, but that is being too formal."

"Oh, okay."

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" a man's voice shouted from within the room causing all those waiting outside to look back at the door. "I didn't mean to insult you!"

"YOU CALLED ME FAT!" a female's raging voice rang out from the other side of the door followed up by another crash. "NOT ONLY THAT YOU SAID THAT I WAS USELESS!"

"You know I didn't mean that! I just said you shouldn't eat so much food!"

"So you were calling me fat!" The arguing on the other side made Roxas sigh, and face palm at the same time.

"I swear Sora is such a blockhead sometimes," the captain sighed. "He should know not to call a girl fat." Raising his hand to knock on the door.

"I'll get the door!" Sora shouted.

"You better leave afterwards!" the princess shrieked. The door slammed open and a figure shot out. It stuck itself to the other side of the corridor as it did. Namine smiled at the group before looking at the figure.

"I'll try to calm her down Sora, but next time make sure not to insult girls okay?" Namine smiled innocently at him. Both Roxas and Sora winced when she smiled like that. While it may seem all innocent, the aura around her was rather threatening. The girl in white entered the room and closed it behind her.

The remaining people from the original group in the corridor turned around and looked at the one known as Sora. He was wearing a black vest with gold trimmings and black pants. Underneath the vest was a red shirt with two belts making an X in the front. On his left shoulder was some sort of metal ornament. Black leather gloves were adorned his hands. Dusting himself off he looked at them and gave a sheepish smile. "You guys heard all of that didn't you?" Sora asked meekly. The trio nodded, to which Sora released a groan. "Sorry you had to hear that."

"Why did you call the princess fat Sora?" Roxas sighed.

"I didn't mean to honest!"

"Just like how you didn't mean to make me spill my sea salt ice cream last year hm?" Axel inquired, raising an eyebrow. Sora turned to the red head and shook his head.

"That was on accident and you know it too Axel! Riku agrees with me."

"But Riku is not here so, it's just your word against mine." The red head smirked after that. "All I'm saying is that you owe me one, got it memorized?" Sora pouted, but slowly nodded his head.

"He's the Knight Commander?" Xion whispered to Axel, bewildered at the fact that the Knight Captain of Radiant Garden looked no older than herself.

"Yeah, he is. He's Roxas's twin," Axel whispered back.

"He is!" She then Sora look over to them and smiled.

"Hey, I haven't seen you in the castle before. I'm Sora, what's your name?" Sora asked her. He stuck his hand out to her, to which she took and shook.

"My name is Xion. I'm a friend of both Axel and Roxas," she answered. "I'm here to join the knights." That made Sora's eyes widen.

"Oh you are? Just like Axel here?" Xion nodded. This made Sora beam. "That's great! We'll become great friends and great comrades! Let's head down to the courtyard and see what you can do." Sora than turned to his brother. "Do you mind helping out the other people within our army train while I see what Xion and Axel can do?"

"Sure thing bro," Roxas replied. He then turned to his two friends and smiled at them. "Good luck guys. I'm stuck doing this lazy guy's duty teaching the others right now. So, just listen to what our dear Knight Commander has to say okay?"

"I got that already," Axel waved dismissively. "I'll see you later Roxas."

"Yeah," Xion replied. "We'll make it into the knights and join you soon." The blond shook his head and headed down the corridor. The duo watched their friend leave, then looked at Sora.

"Let's go. I'd really like to see your skills, and there's no time like the present!" Sora exclaimed as he dashed off the other way that Roxas went. The red head and the brunette looked at each other before chasing after energetic man.

* * *

><p>As this was going on, Namine was talking to the princess of Radiant Gardens, her cousin Kairi. The princess was dressed in a pink silk gown, that had traces of white all around it. Her red hair, which was just a shade darker than Axel's, went to her chin. Her blue eyes were hard, and her brow was furrowed after the little argument she had with Sora. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was looking out the window. Namine shook her head again before speaking once more. "Kairi, you shouldn't be bad at Sora," Namine stated. "He's rather dense sometimes." Kairi didn't look at her cousin. "Cousin don't be angry please." Still no reaction. This made Namine roll her eyes, "Maybe he is right, you do look like you barely fit into that gown."<p>

"I fit the gown just fine!" Kairi pouted. When the red head heard giggling, she sighed and looked at Namine. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up cousin. At least the boy you like doesn't call you fat…or at least unintentionally call you that."

"Roxas tries really hard not to get into trouble, but with Axel around who knows what he may do." The two girls laughed to themselves before calming down. There was a silence that passed by for a few seconds before Namine spoke again. "So why were you really mad at him? You don't get insulted by Sora so easily, even if he calls you fat." Kairi took a deep breath before speaking.

"I know he didn't mean it in a bad way, but he said that I shouldn't start my training to learn how to fight. I know he's just worried about my safety, but he should at least allow me to learn how to use _some_ offensive magic like you."

"Kairi, you should be happy not to be part of the battles that we go into. I'm happy that I'm rarely asked to join any battle since the knights usually take the front lines." Namine put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You should really enjoy the fact that you don't need to fight at all Kairi." The red head frowned horribly at that, and nodded her head.

"Riku would have wanted me to at least know how to defend myself," Kairi mumbled. That made Namine frown as well. Kairi just mentioned one of their friends, one who has not been seen in years.

"Kairi, we don't know if he's still alive."

"Sora and I still believe he still out there. No, we know he still out there. Grandfather even said that he was sure Riku was still alive. The only one who knows the truth is grandfather, and Sora but he won't say anything to me about it."

* * *

><p>Within the dark lands of Temnota a figure was skulking in between the dark alleys within the capital. The figure had black cloak over their body, protecting them from the rain. As it made its way through, it stuck its head out of the opening. The figure then ran off towards an opening within the tall looming fortress that was the castle within the capital of the dark land. The figure wondered why there was a gaping hole within the wall, hoping that this was not some sort of trap. As the figure entered the garden past the wall. The figure looked around the garden and frowned, there was nothing there was to protect the opening but the figure knew better. Normally no person would be able to see the guards of the castle. No, not guards, monsters. The dark monsters that creeped and crawled around in the dark. Their yellow eyes shimmering once in awhile would illuminate for a few moments before disappearing again. The figure also saw some red eyes looking around as well.<p>

"Damned, Unversed and Heartless are around. This makes my job a lot more harder," the figure said to itself, the voice belonging to the one who spoke at the shore. The figure took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. Trusting in himself, the figure dashed forwards and avoided coming into contact with the monsters and made it towards the wall of the building. His eyes surveyed the area again, before finding the door into the building. Making his way to it, the figure frowned at the padlock. In his hands, a blade appeared in a flash of dark light. It looked slightly demonic in its style. The body of the blade was in the shape of a demonic wing, and near the top was a silver angelic wing. The handle of the blade looked very similar to the blade itself, on one side was a white binding that looked like an angel's wing and the other dark and black. The figure hacked off the lock with all his might before banishing his blade again. Opening the door, the figure stepped inside and found himself within the entrance of the dungeon. _"Good, it seems like my information gathering wasn't off. I just need to find the right door_," the figure thought to himself. The figure quickly raced down the cells, looking into each and every one of them with just a glance. The figure kept going until, he got to the of the corridor and saw it turn into another one. Poking his head out, the figure saw yet another one of the beasts, this time in full view. It was humanoid in shape. It was almost all black in color, from its head to its toes. The only place where you can see different colors were on its horns and its wings. The wings had a slight blue hue to them, while the horns on had purple. In the monster's hands was a blue serrated blade that had characters on it. It's most defining feature however was the large heart shaped hole in its chest. Behind the monster was a door.

Making sure he would not be seen, the figure summoned his blade and struck. The figure ran forward swinging his blade at the monster, the Heartless, in front of him and cut through it. The beast cried out in pain and turned its yellow eyes towards the figure. The two clashed blades for few seconds, with the figure dodging the Heartless's attacks. The figure kept cutting the monster, and it became irritated. Throwing it's blade down into the ground the Heartless disappeared from sight. The figure smirked under his cloak. He smelled the air and found the scent of the monster, the scent of darkness. The figure slashed his blade behind him and was happy when heard the monster cry out and disappear in a black mist. He looked back and saw a pink heart float up and disappear. The figure banished his blade and walked towards the door at the end of the hallway. Opening it he saw a stairwell heading downward. The figure sighed, "No where to go but down."

Closing the door behind him, the figure briskly went down the stairs. The figure could feel the eyes of all the monsters as he walked down the stairs into the darkness, although for some reason they were not attacking him. Reaching the bottom of the stairwell he found himself in front of a large door. Pushing it open, the figure headed inside. In that corridor, he found several empty dungeons. Walking down them, he did not find what he was looking for until he reached one near the very end. There in the dark and damp cell was a woman in ragged clothing. There were cuts and bruises all over the parts of her body that were showing. Her blue hair had reached her waist and seemed wilted. It was safe to say that this woman had seen better days. The figure looked at the padlock attached to the door. Summoning his blade, he pointed the tip of it at the lock. There was a small stream of light that hit the keyhole. There was a sound coming from the lock and the door swung open. The woman weakly lifted her head to look at him. Her blue eyes were full of fright as she looked at him, and she began to tremble.

"Hey, hey, hey, you don't need to be afraid," the figure told her. Putting down the hood from his cloak, to reveal a teen with long silver hair. He had an angular face looked softly at her and his aquamarine eyes stared into them. "Master Aqua, it's me Riku, we met when I was younger remember on Destiny Islands?"

"R-Riku?" Aqua mumbled confusedly. Her eyes seemed to flare in some sort of recognition. She still looked afraid of him and Riku sighed. Aiming his blade at her shackles, he shot another beam of light that unlocked it. Apparently that was the only thing holding her up, but Riku was quick to catch her. Riku felt her flinch when he caught her.

"Don't worry Master Aqua, I'll get you out of here."

"You sure about that?" a threatening voice said from the behind the duo. Turning around, Riku saw a man with long blue hair, yellow eyes and an X shaped scar on his face. He was wearing an all black ensemble consisting of a shirt, pants and boots. He also wore a black breast plate, gauntlets and shin guards. In his left hand was large menacing spiked claymore. "I was wondering who had managed to get into our castle easily, and here you are a keyblade wielder."

"Captain of the Royal Guard Saix, aka the Lunar Diviner, I didn't expect to see you here," Riku growled.

"You know my name, and I don't have the convenience of knowing yours. What is it intruder?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"You should, so I can put it on the list of the executions that will occur later on after your capture," Saix said calmly. Riku smirked in response. "What's so funny?"

"You think I came in here without an escape plan? You must be foolish to think that Lunar Diviner." Riku reached into one of his pants pockets and produced a crystalline star. Bringing Aqua closer to him he whispered into her ear, "Hold on tight." The only response was the woman doing as he said. Crushing the crystal star in his hands, Riku suddenly felt his body becoming far lighter and shimmering.

"You will not get away!" Saix shouted as he lunged forward and to slam his claymore into them, but the duo disappeared in a stream of light that bounced around the hallway and bounced out of the door and into the night sky. Saix let out a skyward scream he felt the rays of the moon o him and his anger boiling over.

"Well, well, well Saix. It seems like you let one of our higher ups favorite toys get out," a cheerful voice echoed into the hallway. Saix look in front of him, as the space warped and a man stepped out. He was dressed in the exact same way he was smirking. He had black and greying hair done in a pony tail. Over his right eye was a black eyepatch and had a large scar on the left side of his face that went from across the cheek to the bridge of his nose. His lone yellow eye stared at his comrade. "Saix my friend, you failed. It was rather simple really. Keep the girl jailed and make sure Xemnas's toy doesn't get stolen. Such a simple job and you failed it."

"It was not my fault," Saix grounded out. "Who would have known that a keyblade wielder would come here to rescue the girl? The fact that he had a star shard was even more of a surprise. The thing that made me wonder was how he got into the castle, no, the land so easily and _not_ get caught by any of the heartless, nobodies or unversed. Care to tell me Xigbar, Captain of the intelligence division."

"Sorry, I didn't even know about it. I mean he didn't set off any of our alarms. Whoever he was, he had some sort of darkness inside of him to be able to get in so easily." Xigbar laughed. "Well, you should get going. Go capture that girl again, or else Xemnas would be pissed off. Saix growled to himself as he walked down the corridor, to start going after the kidnapper.

* * *

><p>Riku felt his body rematerialze and look down, seeing that he was about to fall on ground with Aqua in his arms. Turning himself over, he felt the impact as he took the brunt of the force as he collided with the ground. Riku grunted but made sure that Aqua wouldn't get hurt as he landed. Looking down after he stopped skidding, he saw that Aqua was holding onto him tightly. Looking up to the sky after that, he saw the sky and it was just before the dawn. Sitting up with Aqua still in his arms, Riku looked around and saw the storm clouds to the east. "Time to head west," he told to himself. He looked down at the frightened woman in his arms and sighed. Standing up, he carried Aqua bridal style as he started to walk. "It's time to get you home, Master Aqua.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Just so you guys know, that this is only going to be the first chapter. I'm putting this up so you guys can see what the story would feel like if you chose it on my poll. So check it out.


End file.
